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Delays are a normal and often necessary part of a mill’s production process. The furnace and caster experience delays for many scheduled and unscheduled reasons. Delays at casters can be separated on 2 levels – machine and strand. Machine delays are the result of inactivity at the Turret and Tundish, perhaps due to a Turnaround. Strand delays are the result of inactivity in the strand. If a strand is closed for a particular reason, it will have an impact on the shift’s strand utilization, production and number of heats produced. The distinction between the machine and strand delays has been the focal point of QMOS’s new caster delay logic which has been implemented in version 10.4.

The new caster delay logic is the result of continuous improvements in how delays are captured and processed throughout the casting process. Whereas the previous logic linked a particular delay with a heat, the new logic allows for the delays to be stored in a multi dimensional format, allowing for more ways to analyze the data. This new approach increases the reliability and integrity of the data and provides the user with additional analytical tools. Strand Utilization is easily calculated for a shift, a day or any specified date range.

The D-REP screen has been overhauled in order to provide detailed delay and utilization data on a strand by strand basis. Easy to comprehend charts and graphs visually highlight the significant data such as the start and end times of delays, percentage of strand utilization, breakdown of delays per strand and more.

Managers and supervisors are now equipped with the means to better analyze the performance of their crews, shifts and specific strands. The new delay logic used in conjunction with other casting analytical tools in QMOS, such as the real time tracking of casting parameters, offer the means to pinpoint the exact time and cause of strand closures, thus limiting disruptions to the continuous casting process.

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